James Leads Third-Quarter Charge as Heat Gain Edge

MIAMI — There was only one way to cut through the clutter and the mayhem, the flagrant fouls and flopping charges, the sniping and the posturing that threatened to turn the Eastern Conference finals into an angry carnival of sneers.

Order would have to be restored, eventually, with grace and nimble orchestration. So the Miami Heat turned again to LeBron James, who has a knack for creating calm amid chaos.

With control of the series teetering perilously and tempers flaring once more, James provided the Zen, as well as the points and assists and rebounds, lifting the Heat to a 90-79 victory Thursday night and pushing them within one victory of a return trip to the finals.

“That’s what I came here for,” James said afterward, alluding to his 2010 decision to leave Cleveland for Miami.

The Heat, the defending champions, seem primed to make their third straight trip to the finals, although James’s stated goal seemed to be in jeopardy Thursday as the Pacers took control early and put the Heat on their heels.

This was James’s cue. He stepped back and hit a jump shot, and then another, and then a 3-pointer. He swatted away Ian Mahinmi’s layup. He fed Udonis Haslem on the baseline. It all coalesced into a furious 21-6 charge to close the third quarter — a rally that changed the tenor of the game and left the young Pacers dumbfounded.

James led his team in points (30), rebounds (8) and assists (6), playing all but 3 minutes 31 seconds, playing as if every second mattered. It was a familiar and welcome sight for the Heat. James similarly saved them a year ago, in Game 6 of the conference finals against the Boston Celtics.

“With LeBron, it’s not what he says all the time — it’s just the look that he gives,” Haslem said. “That look I saw tonight is the same look I saw last year in Boston, when our backs were against the wall. Once he has that look, like I said, we have to keep up with him.”

The Pacers must have had the same thought, but they were unable to keep up on this night. Paul George was splendid, with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, including a 10-point burst in the fourth quarter. Roy Hibbert added 22 points and David West had 17, but the rest of the roster wilted.

Indiana’s starting backcourt of Lance Stephenson and George Hill combined for 5 points on 2-for-11 shooting from the field. The bench was punchless, producing 8 points. The Pacers had too many turnovers (18, leading to 22 Heat points) and not enough rebounds or second-chance points — their strengths for most of the series.

Now the Pacers find themselves in a familiar position. A year ago, in the conference semifinals, they were tied with the Heat, 2-2, before losing Games 5 and 6.

“This Game 6 will really determine how much we’ve grown,” George said, “because we’ve been in the same ditch, I guess, been in the same predicament.” He added, “We’ll see where we’re at.”

Photo

LeBron James had 16 points in the third quarter. “His engine in that third quarter was incredible,” Coach Erik Spoelstra said.Credit
Rhona Wise/European Pressphoto Agency

Miami has history on its side: the team that wins Game 5 of a tied series has gone on to win the series 86 percent of the time. Indiana would have to beat Miami in consecutive games, and the Heat have not lost two in a row since early January.

The winner of the series will face the San Antonio Spurs in the finals, beginning next Thursday.

The Pacers led by as many as 7 points in the first half and by 44-40 at halftime, triggering an impassioned and possibly violent halftime speech from Juwan Howard, the Heat’s elder statesman. According to teammates, Howard bellowed and might have thrown a few things.

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“Letting us know how we weren’t connected as a team, we weren’t playing as a team,” James said. “We were wasting an opportunity.”

The Heat won the third quarter, 30-13, with James (16 points) outscoring the Pacers’ roster.

Until that point, the game seemed to be getting away from everyone. There had been five technical fouls, one flagrant foul and an abundance of angry exchanges.

The last flare-up came with 6:58 left in the third quarter, when West began jawing at Mario Chalmers. Haslem stepped in to protect his teammate, and all three were given technicals. That was when James took control, and Haslem, who had been quiet, came alive, hitting three consecutive baseline jumpers.

“They started playing to the crowd,” George said, “and all the emotion, everything, the momentum, just swung their way.”

James finished the run with a 3-pointer, giving the Heat a 70-56 lead, and Indiana never got closer than 8 points the rest of the way.

Photo

Udonis Haslem scored 16 points, many of them after passes from James.Credit
Rhona Wise/European Pressphoto Agency

The Heat’s only concern now might be the availability of Chris Andersen, who could be suspended for his actions during a second-quarter confrontation with Tyler Hansbrough.

The two nearly came to blows after Andersen knocked Hansbrough to the court, and Andersen exacerbated matters by trying to go after Hansbrough while being restrained by the referee Marc Davis. Andersen was assessed a flagrant foul 1, for the initial blow to Hansbrough’s shoulder, and a technical foul. Hansbrough also received a technical foul for the incident, which will surely be reviewed by the commissioner’s office.

The tone of this series had been well established through the first four games. It had been feisty, physical and testy, resentment flying in every direction. Hard fouls had been delivered to heads, chests and groins. There were complaints about acting and accusations of dirty play.

And there were flops.

Earlier in the day, the N.B.A. issued $5,000 fines to James, West and Stephenson for violating the league’s antiflopping rules in Game 4. Each was deemed guilty of embellishing contact in an attempt to draw a foul.

The fine was a first for James, who is frequently accused of flopping but had never been cited.

“It is what it is,” James said before tip-off.

Asked if he had earned the fine, James was incredulous. “Did I earn it? Man, quit it. Next question.”

As it happened, this was a night not for acting, but for artistry, and James was, as ever, the most skilled composer on the court.

REBOUNDS

The N.B.A. announced that David West had been retroactively assessed a flagrant foul 1 for making contact with Dwyane Wade’s head in Game 4. The play was originally ruled a common foul. Referring to that ruling and the flopping fines, Wade said: “It’s just the league trying to control their game the best way they see fit. It’s a tough series to call; it’s a very physical series. So they’re just trying to control the game.”

A version of this article appears in print on May 31, 2013, on Page B11 of the New York edition with the headline: James Leads Third-Quarter Charge as Heat Gain Edge. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe